New Mexico now accepting applications for all cannabis business licenses

Did you miss the webinar “Women Leaders in Cannabis: Shattering the Grass Ceiling?” Head to MJBiz YouTube to watch it now!


New Mexico regulators have thrown open the gates for entrepreneurs to apply for every type of cannabis business license available in the state.

In a news release, the state Cannabis Control Division (CCD) – a wing of the Regulation and Licensing Department – said that it’s “now accepting license applications for additional cannabis-business types, including manufacturing and retail.”

“The Cannabis Control Division’s licensing system is open for business,” Superintendent Linda Trujillo of the Regulation and Licensing Department said in the release.

She added that the CCD is expanding its “online platform to allow applicants to start the licensing process now for more business types so that they can be prepared as more rules are being quickly finalized.”

Applications may be filed through the CCD website.

The division began taking cultivator applications in August, which resulted in more than 1,500 applications being filed by November.

The learning curve for entering the cannabis industry is steep. Start with the fundamentals.

MJBiz Cannabis 101 Email Course

A 10-part email course designed to educate new hires and aspiring professionals on the key fundamental areas of the legal cannabis industry, including:

  • History of legal cannabis in America
  • Overview of plant-touching + ancillary business sectors
  • Cannabis finance and investing
  • Cannabis marketing and brand building
  • Employment + hiring opportunities
  • And much more!

Gain a comprehensive understanding of this complex industry with this free resource.

The state has no cap on the number of permits it will issue.

But no retail or manufacturing licenses will be awarded until the CCD is finished writing industry rules for those sectors, which is expected to happen before the end of 2021, according to the release.

Adult-use marijuana sales are slated to launch in New Mexico on April 1, 2022.